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Pennsylvania Member of Congress Tracking Report – 08.15.21

Kierstyn Z

Graphic by Kelly Pollock

This is a 100% volunteer effort brought to you by a handful of progressive Democrats and Independents who share a vision of an informed electorate.  Thank you to the Demcast and Pennsylvania Indivisible organizations who host our report and help us share it with Commonwealth residents!

Indivisible Scorecard

The Indivisible movement is focused on four key principles – equality, justice, compassion and inclusion. Accordingly, we score legislation that reflects those values:

This week we scored the Senate on their infrastructure budget reconciliation vote.

LawmakerScoreChange from last score
🔵 Senator Bob Casey100.0%No change
🔴 Senator Pat Toomey29.4%-6.3%
🔴 PA-01’s Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick54.9%No change
🔵 PA-02’s Rep. Brendan Boyle100.0%No change
🔵 PA-03’s Rep. Dwight Evans100.0%No change
🔵 PA-04’s Rep. Madeleine Dean100.0%No change
🔵 PA-05’s Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon100.0%No change
🔵 PA-06’s Rep. Chrissy Houlahan100.0%No change
🔵 PA-07’s Rep. Susan Wild100.0%No change
🔵 PA-08’s Rep. Matt Cartwright100.0%No change
🔴 PA-09’s Rep. Dan Meuser4.1%No change
🔴 PA-10’s Rep. Scott Perry0.0%No change
🔴 PA-11’s Rep. Lloyd Smucker9.8%No change
🔴 PA-12’s Rep. Fred Keller3.9%No change
🔴 PA-13’s Rep. John Joyce3.9%No change
🔴 PA-14’s Rep. Guy Reschenthaler3.9%No change
🔴 PA-15’s Rep. Glenn W. Thompson10.2%No change
🔴 PA-16’s Rep. Mike Kelly3.9%No change
🔵 PA-17’s Rep. Conor Lamb100.0%No change
🔵 PA-18’s Rep. Mike Doyle100.0%No change

Votes of Interest

The Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill Passes the Senate 

Senate Vote on H.R. 3684: INVEST (Investing in a New Vision for the Environment and Surface Transportation) in America Act

The bipartisan infrastructure negotiations, led by Republican Rob Portman of Ohio and Democrat Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona, resulted in 69 senators supporting a $1 trillion package that includes, per NPR:

The bulk of President Biden’s Build Back Better plan is NOT included in this bill, and will instead go into the reconciliation budget package. But of more interest to us here at MoCTrack is the amendment process, which is often significantly more revealing than the actual bill contents… and it is rarely covered in traditional media. The proposal of amendments show us all our lawmakers’ priorities more than any vote ever can.

There were 539 amendments offered by senators to this package.  That’s a bit much even for us. So we are going to take a look at all the bills for which there was a recorded roll call vote. For each of the amendments below, you will find: 1) a link to the congressional website’s info on the amendment, 2) the lawmaker who submitted it, 3) a short recap, 4) the final vote in the form of a link to the roll call vote on the Senate website, and 5) how our Pennsylvania senators voted on the amendment.


Amendments that passed:

Assume that both Senators Casey and Toomey voted YES unless it indicates otherwise. These amendments are listed chronologically, in the order they were taken up by the Senate.

Amendments that failed:

Assume that Senator Casey voted NO and Senator Toomey voted YES unless it indicates otherwise.   These amendments are listed chronologically, in the order they were taken up by the Senate.

Now this bill goes to the House for a vote. As of press time, it is still unclear when this bill will be scheduled for a vote.  The entire Progressive Caucus in the House (95 members) has indicated they will not support this package until the Senate has also passed the full reconciliation budget with its expansive human infrastructure components. But then the Problem Solver Caucus Democratic co-hair Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ) created a problem by announcing that he and eight other so-called “problem solvers” said they wouldn’t agree to vote for the reconciliation resolution (see next section) unless House Speaker Pelosi schedules a vote on this package immediately. HOuse Speaker Nancy Pelosi needs to find a way to thread this needle. 

Vote date: Tuesday, August 10, 2021 Vote Tally: 69-30

Party Breakdown: All Democrats and Independents voted YES, and they were joined by 19 Republicans, including Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell. The oher 30 Republicans present, including 🔴 Senator Pat Toomey, voted NO. One Republican senator, Mike Rounds of South Dakota, was not present for the vote.

Senator Bob Casey voted YES

Senator Pat Toomey voted NO


Additional Reading:

The Bulk of Biden’s Build Back Better plan gets moving through Reconciliation

Senate Vote on S.Con.Res. 14: A concurrent resolution setting forth the congressional budget for the United States Government for fiscal year 2022 and setting forth the appropriate budgetary levels for fiscal years 2023 through 2031.

The Senate has passed the budget framework for their infrastructure reconciliation package.  This contains the bulk of Biden’s Build Back Better program.  The 50-50 nature of the current Senate is why this measure is using the reconciliation process.  In the 1970s a new process was created to allow bills related to finance and spending (like budgets and debt limit bills) to pass via a simple majority, without giving the opposition party any ability to filibuster them. The limit on this process is that the parliamentarian decides whether the bill is indeed strictly spending related, or if it contains prohibited

policy content. 

Based on those same reconciliation rules, the Senate will have until September 15th to pass this bill. The framework that was passed will have to go down to the House for a vote, and then it will come back to the Senate to have the full budget fleshed out, before another Senate vote, and then another House vote.

The good folks at Roll Call provided this summary of the 118 page budget:

Senate Democrats gave their biggest budget target to Health, Education, Labor and Pensions: $726.4 billion. That figure assumes the panel will provide funding for universal pre-kindergarten subsidies, free community college tuition, workforce development programs, community health centers and more.

Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs would receive the second-largest allocation, $332 billion. Within that figure, the panel is expected to draft legislation to grow the supply of affordable housing and provide rental and down payment subsidies, among other provisions.

Energy and Natural Resources would get $198 billion, including funds to establish a “Clean Electricity Payment Program” to try to incentivize businesses to reduce emissions and hit the Biden administration’s carbon reduction targets.

Other Senate panels’ deficit-increase targets are below:

But, much as with the bipartisan infrastructure bill, at MoCTrack we are far more interested in the voting on amendments – the VOTE-O-RAMA! This was an open opportunity for senators to spend hours telling us all about their priorities, and we get to see how they feel about each of those issues.

There were 1,166 amendments offered to this budget framework, but we are not nearly so ambitious to review them all.  We’ll be providing info on all of the bills that received a roll call vote. For each of the amendments below, you will find: 1) a link to the congressional website’s info on the amendment, 2) the lawmaker who submitted it, 3) a short recap, 4) the final vote in the form of a link to the roll call vote on the Senate website, and 5) how our Pennsylvania senators voted on the amendment.

Amendments that passed:

Assume that both Senators Casey and Toomey voted YES unless it indicates otherwise.  These amendments are listed chronologically, in the order they were taken up by the Senate.

Amendments that failed:

Assume that Senator Casey voted NO and Senator Toomey voted YES unless it indicates otherwise. These amendments are listed chronologically, in the order they were taken up by the Senate.

Vote date: Wednesday, August 11, 2021 Vote Tally: 50-49

Party Breakdown: This was a party line vote.  All Republicans voted NO, and all Democrats and Independents voted YES. Vice President Harris was not needed to break a tie because South Dakota senator Mike ROunds was not in the chamber for the vote.

Senator Bob Casey voted YES

Senator Pat Toomey voted NO


Additional Reading:

Schumer tees up Voting Rights again…. After August Recess

Senate Vote on the Motion to Discharge S. 1: For the People Act

“Voting rights, voting rights, will be the first matter of legislative business when the Senate returns to session in September. Our democracy demands no less,” said Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer.

The Senate took a vote to discharge the For the People Act from committee, much as they have done for a handful of stalled nominations in the past several months.  This action puts the bill at the top of the legislative agenda when the Senate returns to Washington in September. In the meantime a number of Senate Democrats, led by Senate Rules Committee Chairwoman Amy Klobuchar and new Georgia senator Raphael Warnock, are negotiating a much more narrow voting rights bill with senate holdouts Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema that could win the support of all fifty democratic senators.

At the same Wednesday press conference Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said that Democrats were “going to fight to protect the sacred right to vote” and that “It is my intention that the first amendment to the bill would be the text of a compromise bill that a group of senators are working on. Let me be very clear, this is a debate the Senate must have.”

Vote date: Wednesday, August 11, 2021 Vote Tally: 50-49

Party Breakdown: This was a party line vote.  All Republicans voted NO, and all Democrats and Independents voted YES. Republican Mike Rounds of South Dakota was not present, so Vice President Harris was not needed to break a tie.

Senator Bob Casey voted YES

Senator Pat Toomey voted NO

Additional Reading:

Biden Judicial Confirmation – 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals

Senate Confirmation Vote on Eunice C. Lee to be United States Circuit Judge for the Second Circuit

The Alliance for Justice (AFJ) is a national association representing over 120 public interest and civil rights organizations. They penned a letter to senators to advocate for our newest Appeals Court judge, Eunice Lee, and it serves as an excellent introduction to all of us as to why she was the best nominee for this position:

Eunice Lee is eminently qualified to be a federal judge. Lee has spent her career as a public defender in New York City and, if confirmed, will be the only judge on the circuit with experience as a public defender. She will also be only the second Black woman to ever serve on the Second Circuit.

Lee’s career has been immersed in criminal appellate work. She spent over two decades with the Office of the Appellate Defender (OAD) in New York City, becoming a supervising attorney in 2001 after just three years with the organization. Most recently, Lee joined the Federal Defenders of New York in 2019 as a staff attorney. In her career, Lee has represented over 380 indigent clients in both federal and state appellate courts, focusing primarily on post-conviction relief. She has represented clients in numerous habeas proceedings in federal court, one of the most frequent types of cases heard by federal courts of appeal…

…Excelling at every step of her career, Eunice Lee graduated summa cum laude from Ohio State University in 1993 and received her J.D. from Yale Law School three years later. She was a 1993 recipient of the Earl Warren Shearman and Sterling NAACP Scholarship. After receiving her law degree, Lee clerked for Judge Susan Dlott of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio and Judge Eric Clay of the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit.

Outside of the courtroom, Lee has worked to train the next generation of public servants. She served as the Office of the Appellate Defender’s director of recruitment and outreach, recruiting, supervising, and training new staff and pro bono attorneys. From 2003 to 2019, she was an adjunct professor at New York University School of Law where she designed and taught the Criminal Appellate Defender Clinic. In 2014, Lee helped to draft the New York State Office of Indigent Legal Services Appellate Standards and Best Practices.

Vote date: Saturday, August 7, 2021 Vote Tally: 50-47

Party Breakdown: This was a party line vote.  All Democrats and Independents voted YES and all Republicans present voted NO. Three Republicans – Marco Rubio of Florida, Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee – did not vote.

Senator Bob Casey voted YES

Senator Pat Toomey voted NO

Additional Reading:

Unanimously passed legislation

The following bills were passed through unanimous consent or voice vote (which presumes unanimity, as any member can object to the voice vote and ask for a roll call). This list excludes bills related to post offices, stamps, memorials, awareness weeks and other ceremonial activities.

Quotes of Interest

Our Senators on the Bipartisan Infrastructure Package

🔵 Senator Bob Casey, via his official website, 08/10/21:

“This vital, bipartisan investment in American communities is long overdue. Without significant investments in infrastructure for decades, our roads and bridges are crumbling and public transportation is outdated. Too many children and families don’t have access to clean water and both rural and urban communities lack reliable, high-speed internet.

Today, the Senate came together and made a substantial investment in our communities and our future. We have allocated critical funding to make Pennsylvania roads and bridges safer, expand broadband access and improve public transportation, while tackling the climate crisis by prioritizing electric and clean energy. These investments will support the economic growth of small towns across the Nation, and rural and urban areas alike. Now, the Senate has to get to work to pass legislation that will meet the needs of American families by investing in home and community-based services for seniors and people with disabilities, raising wages for home care workers, expanding access to early childhood education and affordable child care, tax cuts for families with kids and paid family and medical leave.”

🔴 Senator Pat Toomey, via his official website, 08/11/21:

“There is a need to expand and maintain our nation’s real, physical infrastructure, which is why the federal government spends billions on these projects every year. But this legislation is too expensive, too expansive, too unpaid for, and too threatening to the innovative cryptocurrency economy.

“Federal infrastructure spending should be driven by a reasoned assessment of our nation’s needs, but this process was driven by Democratic political imperatives rather than necessity. As a result, much of the bill’s spending on actual infrastructure is excessive – such as the $107 billion for transit even as nearly $40 billion in transit “COVID” money remains unspent. Worse, the bill funnels billions to projects that the private sector has been more than willing to fund, such as ferries, EV charging stations, and the power grid. It also showers taxpayer dollars on items, like Pacific salmon conservation, tree planting, and demolishing “racist” highways, that cannot be considered infrastructure at all.

“Despite promises this legislation would be entirely paid for, the bill instead adds hundreds of billions to our already staggering deficit when about $1 trillion in unspent ‘COVID relief’ is still available for repurposing. This comes on the heels of $4 trillion to combat a pandemic, a $2 trillion liberal wish-list rushed through by Democrats on a partisan basis in March, and the specter of another $3.5 trillion monstrosity that would radically redefine the very role of the federal government in the lives of middle-class Americans. To put this in perspective, Congress could pass over a quarter of our nation’s GDP this year in new spending.

“If those features were not bad enough, this legislation imposes a badly flawed, and in some cases unworkable, cryptocurrency tax reporting mandate that threatens future technological innovation.

“For these reasons, I could not support this measure.”

Our Senators on the Reconciliation Infrastructure Package

🔵 Senator Bob Casey, via his official website, 08/11/21:

“On the heels of passing bipartisan infrastructure legislation, this morning, the Senate took an important step to invest in American families by moving forward in the budget reconciliation process. The COVID-19 pandemic and economic crisis has made it even clearer that working families are struggling in an economy that has been rigged against them. This budget resolution will allow for historic investments in workers, children and families through tax breaks for families with children, paid family and medical leave, expanded Medicare coverage, universal pre-K, funding to fight climate change and better wages for workers. It will also allow for the passage of my Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit Enhancement Act to help families afford child care, as well as my Better Care Better Jobs Act, which would expand access to home and community-based care for seniors and people with disabilities, create more than a half a million home care jobs and raise wages for this essential workforce. I look forward to working with my colleagues to get this bill over the finish line and deliver for the American people.”

🔴 Senator Pat Toomey, via his official website, 08/11/21:

“The budget resolution embraced today by the Democrats paves the way for legislation that would redefine the very role of the federal government in the lives of average Americans, all under a 50-50 Senate, a razor thin-majority in the House, and a President who was elected on moderation. After Democrats shamelessly used COVID as an excuse to pass a partisan $2 trillion liberal wish-list in March, Budget Chairman Bernie Sanders has brought the rest of his party along for another $3.5 trillion that seeks to increase dependency of the middle class on the federal government, re-engineer the economy to benefit liberal interest groups, and provide tax breaks to the ultra-wealthy in Democrat-run states. The economic condition of the country does not call for this radical vision, and the American people did not vote for it. I will oppose this reckless tax and spending spree every step along the way.” 

This report is brought to you by the Pennsylvania  MoCTrack team… 

CC Linda Houk

Gary Garb Kierstyn Piotrowski Zolfo

Have you seen an interesting or revealing recent quote from a member of Pennsylvania’s Congressional delegation that was not featured in MoCTrack? We are looking for folks who can help us cover what gets into traditional media, especially in the western parts of the state! Please email KierstynPZ@gmail.com and put “MoC Quote” in the subject, and please be sure to include a link to the article, the article title, and the full quote (in case your editor gets paywalled). Thanks!

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